Sharpener for double-edged razor blades with automatic blade-turning means



April 13, 1948.

R. B. BOSTWICK SHARPENER FOR DOUBLE-EDGED RAZOR BLADES W-I'I'H AUTOMATIC BLADE-TURNING MEANS Filed Nov. 7, 1946 IN VEN TOE. 2044/; a. BOJTWICK.

' ""6 7'- TORNEYZ Patented Apr. 13, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHARPENER FOR DOUBLE-EDGED RAZOR BLADES WITH AUTOMATIC BLADE-TURN- ING MEANS 1 Claim.

This invention is directed more particularly to apparatus for sharpening safety razor blades of the double-edged type and has for one of its objects the provision of means for automatically lifting a razor blade out of operative engagement with a pair of abrasive rolls, and turning the blade over, during rotation of the rolls, the rolls being of full cylindrical contour.

Another object of my invention is to provide sharpening apparatus of the character referred to wherein a fewer number of gear elements are required than in the case of various types of sharpening devices heretofore employed.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character referred to that is provided with means for releasably mounting the blade therein in an improved manner,

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of the sharpener; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof with the blade in operative position upon the surfacing roll; Fig. 3 shows the positions of certain of the parts during lifting and reversing of the blade while the abrasive rolls are being rotated, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the manner in which one of the rolls is urged into engagement with the other.

The apparatus comprises a housing or framework which may suitably be of box-like form open at its top. A pair of abrasive rolls 6 and I of emery or similar material are mounted on shafts 8 and 9 respectively, that are iournaled in the frame 5, the bearing surfaces for the shaft 9, in the side walls of the casing, being elongated horizontally to allow some sliding movement of the shaft 9 relative to the shaft 8, so that the roll I can be yieldably held in driving engagement with the roll 6 by a pair of spring arms II.

A crank I2 is secured to the shaft 8 and serves as "a means for manually rotating the shaft. The crank arm carries a segmental gear or rack I4 that rotates as a unit with the crank.

A bracket I5 of generally U-for-m is pivotally mounted on a shaft or rod l6 that is mounted 7 upon the side walls of the casing 5. The outer end of the bracket carries a spring seat II that is provided with a guide stud I8 for a spring I!) which, at its lower end, engages a spring seat ZI, The spring I8 serves to urge the bracket in a clockwise direction, to yieldably hold a blade 22 in engagement with the rolls 6I.

A holder 23 is pivotally mounted in the arms of the bracket I5, on a shaft 24. The blade 22 is releasably connected to the holder 23 by a spring clip 26 of generally U-form, the closed end of the clip being pivotally supported by a knuckle 21 that isformed on one end of the holder 23. The clip is releasably held in clam-ping engagement with the blade by bent ears or lips 28 that are struck up from one end of the holder. To release the blade, the free ends of the clip 26 are pushed towards one another to move them from beneath the overhanging lips 28, whereupon the clip can be swung upwardly around its pivot at 21. The holder may suitably be provided with bosses such as 29 that will extend up through openings in the blade, to hold it in accurately alined position.

The shaft 24 of the holder carries a gear wheel 3| in position to be engaged by the gear segment I4 during rotation of the crank I2. During a part of each revolution of the shaft 8 by the crank, the gear segment will engage the gear wheel 3! as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to first raise the inner end 'of the bracket I5 and the blade holder to approximately the position shown in Fig. 3. Slight further movement of the crank will flip the blade over to allow its other side to be moved down into engagement with the surfacing rolls. This reversal of movement will take place automatically during each revolution of the rolls 6 and I, the lifting and reversing movement being accomplished during a comparatively short range of travel during each revolution.

The sharpener will also be useful in sharpening single-edged blades, since one face of a blade will be operated upon by one of the rolls and the other face then be operated upon by the other roll, because of the reversal during each revolution of the rolls.

I claim as my invention:

A razor blade sharpener comprising a framework, a pair of sharpening rolls rotatably mounted in the framework intermediate its ends, a bracket pivotally mounted on the framework, adjacent to the outer end of the bracket and one end of the framework, a spring yieldably urging the inner end of the bracket toward the rolls, a holder rotatably mounted on the inner end of the bracket, on an axis parallel to the axis of the rolls, means on the holder for releasably connecting a double-edged blade thereto in position for engagement with the rolls, a gear wheel carried by the bracket, a crank having driving connection with the rolls, and a segmental gear element carried by the crank, in position to engage the gear wheel and raise the inner end of the bracket and also impart a one-half revolution to the holder during each revolution of the rolls.

ROLLA B. BOSTWICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,385,622 Kanner July 26, 1921 1,920,847 Daughtrey Aug. 1, 1933 

